


Stories of a Space Odyssey

by crypticjeggings



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: (these recent two are only towards the end), Alternate Universe – Space, Character tags will be updated, Expect these tags to be changed, Gen, I don't wanna spoil too much for now, I promise that kai cole and jay aren't the only main characters, SPACE PIRATES! SPACE PIRATES! SPACE PIRATES!, The first half of the first chapter was written in October, Warning - Child abuse, Warning - Experimentation on humans, and I just picked this up again, the others just wont appear for a few chapters, they all will get their turn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-03-27 05:18:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13873983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crypticjeggings/pseuds/crypticjeggings
Summary: Kai is just a thief, travelling through space and taking advantage of situations to make as much money as possible. Along the way, he meets two pirates by the name of Cole and Jay, and finds himself drawn to them, trusting them, and travelling with them.However, he finds himself being forced to remember parts of his past he’d rather forget. He finds that certain events in his life aren’t all that they seem. But above all, they find themselves wrapped up in a sinister plot that could force the to confront the past and lose everything they love.





	1. ACT I , PART I

  
_[08/03/57, 3:58 PM]_  

_[Kai Smith]_

_[Jerren Schy]_

_[Thank you so much for choosing me for the Academic's Chosen. I’m honored to be the recipient of such a noble award, one that every student in NNJG yearns to earn.]_

_[This means so so much to me. Life without my parents have been hard, and my sister and I have been working our hardest to live up to their expectations and their dreams for us. The last thing we’d want to do is let them down, and it gives me joy to know their hard work and hopes have been rewarded.]_

_[I hope to see you at the Breakfast of the Awards.]_

_[- Kai Smith, 11th year, House of Smoke]_

* * *

Kai dashed down the hallway, and behind him, from around the corner, footsteps thundered as the mall guards chased after him.

The walls passed at a flying pace, blue, purple, yellow, repeat, blue, purple, yellow, repeat. He skid around a corner, and then ran the final hallway, bringing himself into the middle of the busy spaceport. He tugged a dark brown cloak out of the bag slung by his side, and secured it on himself, pulling the hood up. He was safe, there was no way the guards would be able to find him here.

Kai walked around the spaceport for a few minutes, wandering around but making sure to stay in the busier part, and with the crowd. As he glanced around the sides of the room, he could see more guards than usual patrolling the area, their body language tense and their hands constantly on their comms or blasters. They obviously didn’t want to disturb the crowd, because who knows how several hundred people would react to police rounding them up or warning them about a thief on the loose. But, at the same time, they couldn’t just let go the person who had stolen one of the rare scrolls of Airjitzu.

Of course, Kai didn’t really care about what was on the scroll, the ability it foretold was just a mostly unknown myth from one of the planets of Old which had been lost to time and space. There were many planets of Old, and sure, this scroll definitely wasn’t close to the the most important artifacts from there, and most people wouldn’t have heard of such a discreet and unimportant thing like the legend of Airjitzu, but there were collectors who were keen on gathering as many artifacts from planets of Old as they could. The scroll would fetch a good amount of money on the black market, and that was all Kai really cared about.

As he walked through the port, he started to notice the growling hunger that had started curling in his stomach. It had been hours since he had ate, and he supposed it wouldn’t hurt to get some food.

He made his way through the crowd to one of the digital holomaps displayed at various places in the hub, and made a clicking noise with his tongue. There weren’t many food options nearby, and he supposed that, now that he thought about it, there wasn’t much reason for him to stay here in the port. He had some time to kill before he would attempt his leave of the planetside, and he’d rather spend it on some shady street than this clean transportation hub with officers around every corner.

Kai started his journey towards the tram that would take him to the city, and boarded the first one.

He lowered his hood tentatively as the train whistled through tunnels that snaked through the planet surface, and came to a screeching halt at a stop just outside of the port.

Along with a dozen other, Kai pushed his way out of the car and joined the hive-mind crowd as they climbed up and down the stair, and filtered out onto the wide street with hovercars floating over the pedestrians below.

As he wandered the streets, he heard a distant grunting coming from an alleyway tucked into an already discreet street. His eyebrows furrowed, and he walked at a hesitant pace towards the alleyway mouth.

In the alleyway, there were five men with hoods and dark facial masks covering their mouths. One, the one with a larger build, held a young yet muscular man against a wall, pinning his arm above his head with one hand, and the other hand wrapped firmly around the man’s throat.

Eyes wide, Kai watched them doing their business, and started to slowly back away, but one of the men looked his way and met his gaze. The man’s eyes narrowed, and Kai’s blood ran cold. He’d been spotted.

“Hey, there’s someone here.”

“What?” Snarled the person who was obviously the leader, his grip on the pinned man going slightly slack.

Everyone’s eyes turned onto him, and he felt his stomach drop. Great, just what he needed. More people who were after him.

He lifted his hands, palms flat and facing towards them. “I don’t mean to start any trouble,” he said, eyebrows shooting up. “I’ll just go, and I won’t report you to the authorities.”

The group of masked men stared at him, silent for several moments, when one, a man with a more lithe body, spoke up. “No, you’ve already seen too much.”

 _Well,_  Kai thought sarcastically in his head,  _It’s not my fault you’re doing this in plain sight._

But he didn’t voice these thoughts aloud, that would cause more trouble than it was worse.

“Please,” he continued, “I won’t tell.”

“Maybe if you have points,” the shorter one mused, “we won’t mind.”

He didn’t have much available points on him right now. Just enough to get on and off the planet, and maybe rent out a cheap room if he needed to stay longer than planned. And he certainly didn’t want them to find the other things that he had hidden.

He glanced over at the man that was being held up, and to his surprise, the man raised his eyebrows at him, a slightly hopeful on his face.

“I have a couple points on me,” Kai continued slowly, turning his gaze and attention back onto the threatening group.

 _CRACK_. The young black-haired man’s fist connected with the leader’s jaw, causing the leader to stumble back.

In an instant, everyone reacted. The leader swore loudly, the other members unsheathed blades that were tucked into their sleeves, the man who had just punched the other sprinted to Kai’s side, and Kai was reaching into his own bag for his blade.

Flipping the switch on the side of the blade, it started faintly glowing red, and Kai held out a hand to keep the other young man back behind him.

One of the others lunged at him, silver blade glistening. Kai sidestepped out of the way, leaning over before whipping around and stabbing his opponent's shoulder with his blade.

They let out a cry, and Kai stumbled back. Of course, that was good, he had hopefully deterred the man, but it was also a bad thing. The scream would draw attention, something Kai didn’t need nor want.

“We have to go, now!” He shouted at the unknown man, who nodded quickly, his dark black hair bobbing up and down.

Kai spun on his heel and sprinted around the corner, and down the street, he glanced back, and the black-haired man was just behind him. Unfortunately, the masked team of whoever-they-are were also following them.

Cursing under his breath, Kai skid around a street corner. This was the second time today he had run from people intent on catching and/or hurting him. Several pedestrians let out cries with emotions varying from start to anger. A couple shouted at him.

“Coming through!” Shouted the man behind him, and Kai ducked into a shop, pushing the doors open and grabbing the man with both hands and pulling him in as the group of hostiles rounded the corner. He lunged behind the display, dragging the other down with him.

The customers in the store, as well as the several employees, stared at them, startled. Kai brought a finger up to his lips as if to shush them.

“They’re gone,” hissed the other man, who was crouched uncomfortably close to them.

“Who are you?” Asked one of the staff, eyes wide as she set down the necklace she was checking out at the cashier. “We don’t want trouble, please leave if you’re criminals. Before we call the police.”

Kai glanced around the display through the glass. True enough, the others were gone. “We don’t mean to cause you trouble, ma’am, we’ll leave in a moment.”

Everyone in the store looked obviously wary, and they continued to watch them even as Kai sank down next to the other person next to him. His heart beat fast and there was an undeniable amount of excitement in him- but not the pleasant type.

He didn’t want to draw this much attention to himself, he just wanted to get off this goddammned planet and get to somewhere where he could sell the scroll currently sitting in his bag.

“Sorry about that,” whispered the other man, his dark brown eyes twinkling. “Thanks for helping me out.”

Kai crossed his arms. “Well, I didn’t have much choice. I would’ve just kept walking, but those thugs had to drag me into this.”

The man laughed. “Yeah. Those thugs. Cool blade by the way, it’s a heat one right?”

Kai nodded. “Yeah.”

“I’m Cole by the way,” he said, offering his hand for a handshake.

Kai stared at him, not sure if to tell him his name and shake his hand, or whether to decline. He met Cole’s eyes, and just sat there for a good few moments. Cole raised an eyebrow, and Kai sighed. Fine.

“I’m Kai,” he responded, and reached to shake his hand.

“Good to meet you Kai,” Cole said.

Kai gave him a smile. “Good to meet you too.” He glanced around the display, out onto the street. “I think they’re gone, and it’s safe now.”

Cole got onto his knees and peered over a shelf to look out. “Oh, yeah it is.”

Kai got to his feet. “Guess this is it then?”

Cole shrugged. “Yeah. Thanks for fighting for me out there, I’m not sure how I could’ve escaped that on my own.”

“Hey, no problem, sometimes you gotta help someone out, y’know?”

Cole laughed. “No doubt, huh? Anyways, you seem like someone like me, what do you do for a living?”

Kai raised an eyebrow. “Well, it seems like my lifestyle may be very similar to yours, if that last scene was anything to go by.”

Cole grinned, his eyebrows also raising. “Oh? You know, I’d invite you to meet my partner, but I’m sure you have places to go.”

Shrugging, Kai shook his head. “No, not really, it’s not like I have to be anywhere by a specific time or anything.”

“Well then, my offer still stands.”

“I’d love to meet them then,” Kai responded, a smile forming on his face. It  _was_ true, he didn’t have anywhere he really needed to be, and these people might have contacts that could prove useful to him. Plus, he’d love to meet the partner-in-crime of this man.

“Follow me.” Cole turned and walked out of the store, pushing the glass door forward and aside. Kai trailed close behind him, following him through the street and through the outskirts of the port. Cole guided him onto another bus that he told Kai would take him to the part of the port his ship was at.

 _So, they have a ship,_  Kai thought to himself.  _I wonder if they could help get me off this planet. It sure would be easier._

The bus halted to a stop after a few minutes, and Cole nudged him to let them know they were here, and then got off the bus. Kai made sure to always be close behind.

They ducked into a shadowed alley, with a small light up sign declaring it as ‘ _Gate 65’_. There wasn’t much movement in this alley, though there was a good amount of pedestrian traffic on the road they had just left.

They turned around a corner to an opening of tarmac and lights. In the center of the landing pad was a dusty brown and angular ship, painted with copper colored stripes that ran down the sides. The ramp was lowered, but the door to the hold was closed.

Cole jogged up the metal ramp, his boots clanging against it. He slid up a panel in the wall and punched in a number code.

Kai slowly continued after him, and sure enough, the door slid open moments later.

“This way,” Cole murmured, flicking a switch that lit up the darkened hold, revealing several crates and tarp-covered items. Kai was going to stop and look over the contents of the room, but followed Cole because he kept moving forward.

Cole spoke into a comm channel on the side of one of the doors they went through. "Hey Jay, I'm back!"

In moments, the overhead speakers crackled to life. "Oh, finally! I've been waiting for hours, geez."

Cole laughed. "Sorry, got in a scuffle. Also, I brought someone over."

_Pause._

"Ooh, there's someone here?" This person known as Jay responded, the sound of excitement raising in his voice. "I'll be out to meet you too in a moment." The sounds coming from the speakers stopped, ending with a click.

They continued walking.

"That's Jay," explained Cole. "He's my partner here, and he helps me keep things running. This whole place would be in a state of disrepair without him."

Kai laughed. "Wow, okay. So I'm guessing he's good with robotics?"

"The best," came Cole's response. "I'm sure he could figure out any sort of system if given enough time.

Kai raised an eyebrow. “Wow, impressive,” he responded.

They reached another door, and Cole reached out to press the button that would let it slide aside, and they entered what seemed to be the bridge of the ship.

There were several sofas that lined the room, with a screen on one side of the room and a table that was probably for eating on the other side.

A man who looked their age was waiting for them, sitting on one of the beige sofas. He sprung to his feet and bounded over to them, sticking out a hand for a handshake. “Hello! I’m Jay, what’s your name?”

Kai shook Jay’s hand, smiling. “I’m Kai, good to meet you.”

“So, how’d you meet Cole?” Jay asked, eyebrows raised as he stuck his hands into his pockets. “He doesn’t exactly make too many friends.”

“Hey!” Cole protested, but from Jay’s cheeky grin, Kai could tell that this was a common conversation between the two.

Kai shrugged. “Oh, you know, he was doing something illegal, I was too, I figured one criminal should help another out.” He gave a smirk, obviously making a light-hearted joke.

Jay rolled his eyes. “Of course, I don’t think he can meet anyone in any other way.”

Laughing, Kai raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Well your life must be interesting.”

Jay nodded, a grimace. “Yep!”

“Hey, I can still hear you!” Cole chided them, crossing his arms.

“I know you can,” Jay retorted as he turned and started to walk towards the cockpit. “Anyways, our time allowed in this port is expiring, I really don’t wanna get in more trouble than we already are in. We go.”

Kai frowned. He’d been enjoying chatting with them, however brief it was. “Well then, I should probably get going, shouldn’t I?”

“Oh, I thought you were coming along!” Jay said, surprise in his voice.

“Oh, am I allowed to?” Kai looked at them with surprise, his hand firmly wrapped around the base of the strap on his bag. “I guess I do need a ride off this planet.”

Cole looked to Kai, then to Jay. “It’s okay with me, if it is with you, Jay.”

Jay grinned, not even thinking about his answer. “Welcome aboard, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> I'm also really excited for this. I have a solid plan and plot, and I can't wait to reveal it >:)
> 
> If you liked this, it means SO SO MUCH! (and of course, kudos, comments, and constructive criticism is always appreciated.
> 
> Also, a special thanks is in order, to my friends on Discord for supporting my ideas (Yes, Elliot, this is especially aimed at you)
> 
> I'm also planning on updating every two weeks, so, see you guys around the 20th!


	2. ACT I, PART II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kai is settling into the ship, when they get attacked.

_ [10/17/57, 4:37 AM] _

_ [Kai Smith] _

_ [ _ [ _ deleteduser546@nnjg.org _ ](mailto:deleteduser546@nnjg.org) _ ] _

_ [sfdfnsafdnammfwammfns] _

_ [i mi,,ss yuo] _

_ [im so f,,k-in drunk right now] _

_ [i dont know hwhat to do] _

_ [whym i crying] _

_ [b,lease come back to me u cant be gone i cant do this. please i cant do this anyomre. i just want you to b safe and here dont do this to me what if what if what if ic ant handle this] _

_ [god ima mess] _

_ [come back to mw] _

_ [i love you] _

* * *

 

“Alright, this is where you’ll be sleeping!” Jay announced, sliding a door open to reveal a bland room with grey-blue walls and a single bed. “Sorry it’s not pretty or anything, we usually don’t need to use it.”

“I could guess that,” Kai chuckled, walking into the room and popping his hip as he glanced around, identifying the best places to hide weapons and other items he didn’t want people to find.

“Yeah, we don’t really get too many visitors. You’re the first in a while,” Jay told him, following after Kai into the room. “The life of a pirate doesn’t make too many friends.”

Kai nodded. “Yeah, tell me about it,” he laughed. “I’ve been fine so far, but it’s relieving to be in a place where you aren’t just waiting for them to shoot you.”

Okay, so there was the chance of them betraying him. Kai wasn’t going to forget that, just because they’d been nice to him so far. He couldn’t know their ulterior motives just by looking at them, and he couldn’t trust them.

But still, it was nice to feel safer than usual.

Jay laughed. “I can’t imagine life without a ship or friend who’s always with you, it seems lonely. Is it?”

Kai thought for a moment. He supposed he’d never really thought about it, but he  _ was  _ alone. Maybe not very lonely, but still alone. 

“I haven’t really thought about it before. I guess it depends on the person though. I’m not lonely.”

It had taken a while for him to be okay with not having someone with him, he reminded himself, but he didn’t say that out loud..

"Anyways, thanks for letting me stay here," Kai told him. He knew that if the roles had been switched he wouldn't have done the same. He also didn't say this out loud.

Shrugging, Jay responded with, “Hey, no problem.”

Kai gave him a gracious smile before Jay turned and walked out the door, leaving Kai to himself. Kai sighed and plopped down on the bed, swinging his stachel onto his lap. He sifted through the contents, taking out what he’d like to have in his room.

He fished out a blaster, taking it out of its solid case and loading ammunition into it, then locking it into safety mode. He glanced at the space in between the bed and the wall, and lowered the blaster into it, then covered it with a plain looking book.

From there he took out his dark red facial covering he usually wore, checking for any tears or rips that he’d need to fix. There was nothing.

He organized the contents of his bag, hanging his jacket and spare set of clothes in the barren clothing rack in one corner of the small room. Finally, he took off his brown cloak, setting it onto a hanger.

He laid on his bed, admiring how much more comfy this was, compared to the other places he usually stayed. Of course, it was still hard and was nowhere near as luxurious as the beds in the Academy, but it was still enjoyable.

He was tempted to just sleep right there, but he knew that he probably shouldn’t, not right now.

Kai rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling. It was a monotonous grey, but had white paint streaks running across it. The corners of his lips curved up, as he noted that whoever had painted this ship last wasn’t very good at it. 

His muscles ached. As he turned his head to face the small white door of the washroom that was on one side of the room, he wondered if they'd mind him taking a shower. He hadn't had the chance to have one in several days, and he hoped they'd have warm water.

_ Well, it can’t hurt to take  _ one _ small shower _ , he thought, before sitting up and hopping off the bed. He walked through the door, ducking due to its shorter size, and glanced around the washroom. 

It was mostly white, with the exception of some grey detailing, and the floor. He wondered how long the shower time was set at, and the clock embedded in the tile read 8 minutes. Well, he could work with that.

He stripped himself, then got into the shower and turned the knob for the water.

Soon, he had warm shower water streaming down his back, and he sighed as he felt himself untense his shoulders. Kai rolled his head tentatively, then reached for the soap that was sitting on a small shelf. He wondered in the back of his mind how long it had sat there, unused, but he found himself not caring as he rubbed the white bar across his chest and arms, then massaged suds through his dripping hair. This was relaxing, up to the point where the ship pitched and threw him into the side of the shower glass.

He cursed, trying to reach out to grab on something, but his hands were only met with slippery glass, water spraying onto him from above.

He twisted and reached towards the top of the glass, holding tight as possible even as he heard a loud and concerning noise as the ship twisted back onto its other side.

He reached a hand back, setting it against the tile across from him and letting it guide him down. Kai slid into a sitting position on the floor, before trying to push himself up and out of this damned slippery shower.

He reached for the towel, hurriedly drying himself off before dashing out into his room and pulling a change of clothes out of the closet and pulling them on. He slammed his hand on the button on the door frame and nearly fell into the hallway as the ship continued to sway.

A small whirring sound came, and Kai found himself being pulled back up, and the world seemed to right itself.  _ They must've adjusted the artificial gravity _ , he thought to himself, running his hands through his still soaked hair before taking off down the hallway to the cockpit.

"There you are!" Jay called to him, flinching as the ship seemed to rock again.

"What's happening?" Kai asked, grabbing onto a handle set into the wall.

"Can't you tell?" Jay responded, "We're under attack."

Kai's heart began to race faster, he'd never actually gone through a battle in space. He was well used to fighting on the ground, but this was unfamiliar territory.

"How can I help?" Kai questioned, his grip on the handle tightening.

Jay let out a low growl as he sent the ship soaring up, then shouted to Kai, "Just stay here, Cole's doing the only other thing you could do to help."

Kai grimaced. He hated the idea of just sitting here, not doing anything, just waiting for others to do work for him.

They shuddered once more, Jay shouting things through his comm to Cole. Kai disliked being so helpless out here, if they got shot in the wrong place they could be sucked out into that cold vacuum called space, space was so empty he really didn't want to end this way, he couldn't help the tumble of thoughts constantly coming out of him.

He hoped Jay and Cole could pull them through this. He prayed that this wasn't something new for them either, and that they had more experience than them.

"Lightspace!" Jay shouted, slamming down on a lever, and suddenly they were thrust into light. Kai flinched from the sudden brightness, he'd seen this sight before but he never truly got used to it.

Jay slumped back in his chair, taking his headset off and placing it on the dashboard. "Oh god, that was a hard one."

Kai took several deep breaths, he didn't want it to seem like this had bothered him. "Is this a usual experience for you two?"

The other man swiveled his chair around so he could face Kai. "It's not something that happens too much, just occasionally." Jay shrugged. "They were fierce though."

"Yeah, I bet," Kai retorted, walking towards the controls of the ship and peering out at the swirling mass of lights and colors.

The sound of heavy boots against the floor came from the entrance to the room, and both Kai and Jay glanced over as Cole walked through the door, pulling off a faded orange headband that had been holding his dark hair back.

“Well, that was a rough one, wasn’t it?” Cole scowled, sitting down onto one of the tanned couches.

“No doubt, huh?” Jay responded, with a laugh. 

“How badly are we damaged?”

Jay frowned then swivelled around to check the various meters and screens flashing in front of him. “We could be doing worse, but it’s not good. We’re gonna need to stop somewhere to pick up more parts.”

_ Stopping somewhere?  _ Maybe Kai could find a place for the scroll he had hidden away in his bag.  _ Or maybe they could leave you here,  _ he also thought, moments later.

Jay hovered over the controls, typing commands into a small input box, probably coordinates for their next stop. “How does Jamanakai sound to you?”

“Jamanakai is good,” came Cole’s response, walking to Jay and peering over his shoulders.

“Alright.” Jay entered the coordinates, a frown set across his face as he typed. He stood up after pressing send. “I’m gonna go check the damage, if anyone wants to come with.”

“I’ll come,” Kai offered, swinging his feet lazily as he sat tense against the pleather. He pushed himself up.

“Alright.” Jay beckoned Kai over before turning out of the bridge.

“I’m just gonna stay here, messing with the systems,” Cole called after them. Kai sent one last glance his way before following Jay down the grey hallway.

He picked up his pace so that he was side by side with Jay, who was walking at a surprisingly quick pace for his short stature. They turned down another hallway that Kai hadn’t been down yet. Then again, he hadn’t been down many halls here, had he?

“So, this happens often?” Kai asked, trying feebly to make conversation.

Jay laughed, glancing over at the other man. “Didn’t you already ask that?”

“Oh. Right.” Kai tried to ignore how his cheeks heated up at the fact that he was asking a question that Jay already answered. “I forgot.”

They fell into silence again, before Jay became to a sharp and quick stop, holding up a hand as he swivelled around to face the wall. 

Kai stopped as well, watching a Jay swung open a panel in the metal and started looking through the wiring. “Alright,” the shorter boy mumbled to himself. “Everything here’s in check, just like it should be.” He glanced over the circuits and wires again before shutting the compartment with a sharp  _ clang. _

As they continued walking through the halls and checking different compartments, panels, and contraptions, they fell into a silence. Kai wondered why he didn’t just return to his room and continue looking through his stuff, but he decided to keep walking here with Jay, getting a feel for the layout of this ship.

“Surprisingly large, huh?” Jay asked after what must’ve been the tenth hallway. “Trust me, it feels smaller once you get used to it.”

“Is that so?” Kai asked. “I’m looking forward to that.”

“You’re planning to stick around that long?” Jay asked, surprise showing in his voice. Kai was also surprised, more to himself for letting on how comfortable he was getting.

“Maybe,” he said with a shrug. “If you’ll let me.”

Jay gave him a small grin. “If you’d like to stay, we’d love to have you here.”

“Really?” 

“Of course.”

Kai considered his offer. He knew he wanted to take it, but reminded himself yet again that he had just arrived here. It wasn’t  _ appropriate  _ to be thinking on such long-term basises.

“I’ll think about it,” Kai said, as they turned onto another short and grey corridor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm glad you stuck around to the 2nd chapter :D
> 
> I'm glad I was able to get this chapter out around the time I intended too. Let's just ignore that I'm only halfway done with the next chapter of my other fic, woops. At least this was the fic I want to focus on, lol.
> 
> Once again, thank you! Please comment any constructive criticism/thoughts you have!


	3. ACT I, PART III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kai and the others visit Jamankai.

_ [01/04/58, 6:47 PM] _

_ [Kai Smith] _

_ [Jerren Schy] _

_ [I’m sorry.] _

_ [I don’t think I can do this much longer.] _

_ [Thank you for caring for me, but I have to leave.] _

 

* * *

 

 

Kai stared up at the ceiling.

_ Tap. Tap. Tap.  _ His foot went up and down again against the wall, tapping impatient. He didn’t like waiting, he never had. Kai  _ hated  _ waiting, in fact. Letting the hours stretch on and on with nothing to do, that was so boring he could practically  _ feel _ the nothingness seeping through his heart.

The ship jumped slightly, and he gritted his teeth as his heart fluttered, reminding him of the attack earlier that day. 

They were heading for the Jumankai place, this planet that Kai’d never heard of. According to Jay, it was a very ‘low-energy’ place where they could stock up on supplies. 

It wasn’t surprising that he’d never heard of this place, he supposed. There were a lot of places Kai had never been. The universe was a large place, there were  _ tons  _ of planets he’d never see in his lifetime. Too many places to go, not enough time.

He turned awkwardly and propped himself up against the wall, settling for staring up at the roof as he kept moving his foot up and down against the blankets strewn beneath him.

Kai wished he had his holotablet with him. Pouting, he thought about just a few days ago when he’d dropped it while staying in a hotel on a spacestation, flinching as he recalled the sharp sound as the glass shattered. 

He wished there was a window in this room, he’d love to look out the window at the stars slowly passing by, and maybe even see the approaching planet.

After a few moments of contemplating whether it’d  _ really  _ be worth it to stand up, he got up to his feet and made his bed again, then stretched and left the room. He made his way down to the hold, remembering vaguely the viewport into the outside. 

He put his hands in his pockets as he walked along the hallway and into the ship’s hold. Drawing closer to the windows, he glanced outside. His eyebrows shot up as he realized with a start that they were a lot closer to the planet than he expected. It loomed in the distance, with green, brown and white spots, red swirling in various splotches.

As they sped towards Jamankai, Kai watched in fascination as the planet speedily grew larger and larger. He traced the swirls and splotches with his eyes, lips quirking up on the edges as he looked at the beautiful sight.

Soon they neared the atmosphere, and Kai held on a bar set into the wall as the ship trembled, swallowing. He still hated this shaking sensation a  _ lot. _

The intercom beeped on, and the voice of Jay started to fill the room. “Hey guys, we’re nearing the planet surface, get ready to go.”

Kai pursed his lips and nodded, despite the knowledge that no one would see him.

They touched down on the ground, on a dusty landing pad near the side of a mountain. By then, Kai was sitting on a box filled with who-knows-what, kicking his leg absentmindedly as he stared out into the unfamiliar landscape.

Cole came down to the hold, carrying a plain and undecorated messenger bag, slung by his side. “Oh, Kai, you’re already down here.”

Kai nodded. “Yeah, I cam down here like half an hour ago. There’s like  _ nothing  _ to do back in my room.” Kai laughed.

Cole grimaced. “No doubt, huh?” He pulled himself up next to Kai, sitting with his back pressed to another dark-colored metal crate.

“What even in these things?” Kai asked, knocking against the metal.

Cole’s face darkened. “That’s not something we can tell you.”

Kai tensed. “Oh. Okay.”   


Cole continued staring at him for a moment, before starting to laugh. “No, no, I’m joking. All this? It’s just differents dry foods we stole from someone.”

Kai sighed with relief. “That’s a  _ bit _ better.”

“Hey, you can’t judge us for stealing things!” Cole said in defense. “Last time I checked, you were a thief too.”

“Nah, I certainly can’t judge you.”

Jay came down to the hold, with a backpack sitting on his shoulders. “Hey guys!”

Kai waved at him and started to clamber down from the crate. He didn’t have a bag with him, but Kai figured that if he really needed to he could pick one up from a store if he needed. 

Jay went over to the panel next to the wide door, punching in a code and stepping back as the bay depressurized and the ramp started to lower onto the rocky surface of the landing.

Following Jay and Cole as the walked out onto the ramp and locked the ship behind them, Kai stopped towards the top and admired the view before them.

The wind whistled around him and through the mountains, his hair getting mussed by the cold gusts.

He pressed his hand to his forehead, shielding himself from the sun and looked at the city before them.  _ It looks like just a village, except it’s too big _ , he thought to himself, smirking slightly.

“Come on!” Jay shouted to him over the wind. Oh right, they other two had already walked to the edge of the landing pad. Kai hurried after them, tugging his cloak to his sides while trying to protect himself from the cold.

“We’ve been here a few times before,” Jay started talking absentmindedly as the made their way down the steps to Jamankai city. “It’s not a very populated planet, and pretty small. Most of it’s like this, same architecture and everything. The money they make are from the mines in the mountains that have valuable stones, and the tree has sap with medical property. They also make the sap into syrup.”

Kai nodded absentmindedly, only half listening as he turned his head around and looked over the vast landscape with mostly no buildings whatsoever. “Are all the cities this small?”

Cole, hearing his question, laughed and answered it. “Yeah. Like we said, it’s pretty unpopulated. This city actually does have a good market though, because it’s the only livable planet in this stretch of space. A lot of ships stop by here, but the people of Jamankai are  _ adamant  _ about not expanding.”

“Yeah, I don’t know why small cities are so important to them,” Jay cut in.

They reached the bottom of the stairs, and started down a dirt path that had been pressed down by the many people who had walked here.

“I haven’t seen snow in so long,” Kai commented as they passed by a small patch of the white substance.

“We actually saw some recently, we went to a snow planet last week,” Cole responded. “But yeah, there’s a bit of snow. There’s more in the forests though.” He motioned towards the trees of red spilling out from another mountain nearby. 

They reached the end of the path, and Kai glanced through the arch in front of them at the city. He could already hear laughter and talking, and was surprised that he could hear at this distance.

Walking through the arch, Kai tilted his head back to see the details underneath, such as the words written in an ancient language he didn’t understand.

All around them, there was now life. Most houses had doors propped open, and the front rooms seemed to be converted into shops and restaurants. Those who weren’t still seemed to mostly have open doors, with people lounging on the steps outside or only a few paces away, selling from a cart.

It was much more lively than Kai had expected, and he glanced around at the various goods they were selling.

“Alright, I’m gonna head over to the mechanics shop to look for parts,” Jay announced, then said, “Meet me back at the ship in 2 factions.”

“And I’m going to try and stock up on some food,” Cole added. “I’ll meet you there soon.” He was about to walk away, then asked Kai, “Do you have points?”

Kai checked his pockets. “Oh… I forgot it back at the ship.” He laughed nervously.

Cole shrugged, and took a pouch out of his pocket and poured the golden pieces into his glove, then handed them to Kai. “Take these, it should be enough.”

“No, I really shouldn’t-” Kai started to protest.

“Please, you can pay me back later.”

Kai watched as Cole left, surprised that he trusted him enough. He shook his head then started to wander through the stone-paved roads, peering at the various items being sold.

He stopped at a food stand, noticing that he was hungry after walking for a bit. The seller sat against the stairs of his home, looking bored.

A blond-haired boy stood next to him, also seemingly viewing the various street food and sweets.

Beckoning the seller over, Kai started to point towards a roasted fruit on a stick when the young boy dashed his hand out and grabbed as many juice-sticks as he could, turning within seconds and dashing away.

“Hey!” The seller shouted, anger distorting his face. Kai took one glance at him, then the kid, before sprinting after the kid.

T his kid wasn’t very fast, but he’d had enough of a headstart to prevent Kai from catching up with him. Tourists and locals looked at them with surprise as the dashed through the streets.

Reaching out, Kai grabbed the arm of the boy and yanked him back, ignoring his high-pitched squeal as he tumbled back to Kai.

The boy tried to twist out of his grasp, but Kai kept his grip on his wrist steady. “What was that for?” Kai scolded, an eyebrow raised.

The blond kid pouted. “None of your business.”

“Hey, you were stealing from someone. That makes it my business.”

The boy tried to tug away from him again. “I’ll return it, fine, just let me go.”

Kai shook his head. “Where are your parents?”

Scowling, the kid muttered, “I don’t have any.”

Oh. “Well then, I guess I should give you over to the authorities, they’ll figure out what to do with you.”

The kid froze. “No, no, please don’t give me to the police!” He squirmed more, and Kai noticed with shock that he seemed to almost be… Tearing up. “Make me work or something to pay off the candy, just don’t turn me over.”

Kai paused, unsure what to say. Maybe the kid didn’t want to go back because he was already in trouble. Maybe-

“Green!” Came a voice, calling out. Kai turned his head and saw a man and a woman running towards them. The boy, who Kai presumed was named Green-  _ who names their child after a color? _ \- tried to take a step back, seeming to forget the Kai still was keeping him put.

The couple reached them and the woman got on her knees to hug Green, who stiffened.

“Thank you for catching him,” the man said, panting slightly from running after his son. “He’s so rebellious and he just ran off, we didn’t know how we were going to get him back.”

Kai still was watching how Green tried to squirm out of his mothers grasp, noticing how uncomfortable he seemed. “Your welcome?” He said, hesitant.

“He’s so mad that we’re sending him to boarding school,” the mother began, holding on to Green’s hand with an iron grip. Kai let go of his other wrist, figuring she had a good hold on him. “I’m sorry if he gave you any issues. If he took anything, we can pay you back.”

“No, it’s fine,” Kai instinctively started. “It’s not an issue. Just keep an eye on him in the future, okay?”

Green watched him with large trembling eyes, then sagged his shoulders as his parents led him away with a chorus of thanks towards Kai. Kai waved them off, but still kept staring at the boy.

“My names not Green!” He called to Kai, ignoring his parents loudly shushing him. “It’s Lloyd!” He cried. His parents started to loudly admonish him for telling that to Kai.

Kai stared after them, unable to rid the feeling that this boy was going to be trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hOOO BOY that was. Interesting.
> 
> Once again, thank you for reading and please leave me constructive criticism if you have any! Also, comments are always appreciated.
> 
> Also, I wanna try asking a question every now and then, so this update's question is:
> 
> which character do you hope/think will appear next? (can be minor characters or main characters)
> 
> \---
> 
> Edit: PLEASE NOTE THAT THE TAGS HAVE CHANGED! Please look at the last 3 tags and stop reading if these topics make you uncomfortable/trigger you. These won't come up for many chapters, but it's an important plot point towards the end.


	4. ACT I, PART IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group returns from Jamankai and plans their next travel.

_ [9/5] _

_ Shes gone _

_ She’s dead _

_ I’m alone. _

_ i miss her _

* * *

Kai walked with his hands buried in the pockets of his cloak, making his way along the cobbled path. It had almost been 3 factions, but he hadn’t really bought much. He ended up going back to the seller and paying back the candy, along with buying a few extra snacks.

He wondered if Jay had found everything he’d been looking for, all the parts he’d needed for the ship. 

Despite it happening almost 2 factions ago, he somehow couldn’t get his mind off the kid who’d seemed so scared of going back to his parents. Uncomfortably, Kai wondered if it had been wrong for him to let him go without making sure he was safe first.

No, it’d be fine, right? Green- or Lloyd, whatever his name was- seemed to be loved by his parents a lot. He was probably just rebellious, just trying to run away.

Kai thought with a twinge of guilt about how he’d react if someone tried to force him to return to the academy.

He had come all the way to the edge of town by now, and his eyes traced the dirt path and the stairs carved into the rock. Ugh. Earlier, Kai hadn’t even considered how much energy it would take to make it back to the ship. On top of that, how were the others, who were carrying more things, going to get up?

Well, it was a good thing he was in shape.

He started the trek back to the ship, and as he looked through the mountains he noticed with a start where the other ships were parked, and that there were more landing pads on the other side of the cliff-faces and jagged peaks. 

It seemed obvious, now that he thought about it, if this city got a lot of traffic it would make sense that they would have more than one ship parked at a time. Kai continued walking up the trodden path, and noticed with relief that the stairs were steadily getting closer.

_ I’m gonna have to tell Jay that I don’t appreciate how far we parked, _ he thought dryly to himself.

Speaking of Jay… He glanced behind him, back at the city sitting on top of the mountainside, and at the stretch of road he had walked up already.

The others seemed like they hadn’t emerged from the city or started the journey up the mountain-top yet. Kai frowned but continued walking, sure that they’d just been delayed slightly by an accident or slip-up on purchasing items.

His hands in his pockets, Kai considered sitting down and waiting for the others. He had been walking for several hours, and he wouldn’t mind just examining this view for a few minutes.

There was a patch of dry grass just a few feet off the side of the road. Kai made his decision and stepped off the dirt path, sitting down on the green.

He stretched his arms up, palms flat and facing up, and he finally noticed how he was tired from four hours of activity, exploring, and walking.

Kai’s hands now back in his lap, he stilled and looked out at the vast and stretching world, admiring how the red forests and the rivers shone in the evening sunlight. There were thin clouds gathered around the tops of the mountains in the distance, just enough so that Kai couldn’t fully see the details of the craggles and indents of the snow-capped peaks. 

He looked back down to the end of the slope, and was pleasantly surprised to see that sure enough, there were the other two members of the crew.

Kai doubted that Jay and Cole would see him if he tried and waved at them, so he simply watched as they started to ascend and come towards his spot of the edge of the path.

When several minutes had passed, Kai wondered if they’d noticed him yet, and he stood up and started to step back onto the dirt walkway.

Jay’s face lit up with recognition. “Kai!” He called over the wind, barely loud enough that Kai could hear him.

Waving to them, Kai waited patiently for them to catch up to them.

“So, how was Jamankai for you?” Cole asked him as they reached his point, slowing down to meet Kai’s standstill.

Shrugging, Kai said, “Eh, it was fine, I helped find a runaway boy though.”

Cole raised his eyebrows. “A… Runaway boy?” He asked, as the group started up their hike up the mountainside. 

Kai nodded. “I know, right? He looked like he was maybe 8 years old, his name was Green or something.

Jay crinkled his nose. “Who names their child Green? That’s what I wanna know. It’s a terrible name.”

“Funny considering that’s coming from someone named Jay Walker,” Cole sneered.

Kai stared at him for a second, then started laughing. “Seriously, your name is Jay Walker? Like people who illegally cross streets?”

Jay rolled his eyes. “Oh, as if that’s the first time I’ve heard that,” he muttered.

Kai laughed, before adding, “My name isn’t fancy either, it’s just Kai Smith. As in, the most boring last name ever,  _ and  _ my family were blacksmiths.”

He stopped as Jay and Cole did, sharing a glance as they pulled to a stop.

“Like, Kai Smith? The runaway from Ninjago Academy?” Cole asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kai’s stomach flipped. “What? Where’d you hear that?” He demanded, the pitch of his voice shooting up. This wasn’t exactly the type of news that would’ve travelled galaxies. 

“We were in the neighboring city when that happened,” Jay started to explain. “That’s one of the best schools there, of course it would be on the local news. No one just goes missing from that school.”

Kai scowled. “Sure they did, it’s happened before.”

“Why’d you leave?” Questioned Jay. “I’m sure there are a lot of families who would  _ kill  _ to have their child in that school.”

“It just wasn’t the right fit for me,” Kai growled, his pace picking up. They were now at the bottom of the steps, and he started to climb up the rock.

Hurrying up after him, Jay continued talking and asking questions. “Did the teachers not like you? Did you have a fight with another student?”

“I don’t think he wants to talk about it,  _ Zaptrap _ ,” Cole reprimanded Jay. “Leave him alone.”

“Yeah, I don’t really want to,” Kai called back to them, not even trying to keep the dripping poison out of his tone.

“Oh sorry,” Jay said. “I won’t bring it up if you don’t want me to.”

“Yeah, don’t.” He shoved his hands into his pockets.

They now walked in a  _ very  _ awkward silence, Kai reprimanding himself for causing all this by giving them his stupid last name. He hated that Academy, he didn’t want to be reminded of all that had happened.

When they reached the ship, Jay set down his bag of ship parts and started clicking away at the side panel.

As the door opened, Jay picked up his bag again and entered his ship. Kai and Cole followed.

“Alright, I’m gonna take these in and start working on repairs!” Jay said, returning to his normal levels of cheerfulness.

“I’ll take these to the fridge too,” Cole said, lifting the bag, more towards Jay than Kai.

Kai left the room and went back to his own bedroom. He took off his cloak and started to folding it over his arm, opening the door to the room and throwing himself onto the bed.

Tell you the truth, Kai almost felt bad for snapping at Jay like that.

Almost.

No matter what, it wasn’t anyone else’s business and Kai would always uphold that. He had no reason to talk to others about all that had happened, had no reason to relive that point in his life.

Still, they’d been only nice and polite to Kai, letting this person they didn’t know at all into their home. A person who wasn’t the least bit trustworthy.

* * *

Yawning, he sat up in bed. He’d just finished taking a nap, and figured that it wouldn’t hurt to go out and finally talk with Cole and Jay.

Kai swung his legs over the edge of the bed, then pushed himself up into a standing position. Opening the door, he started on his way to the control room. He passed through the halls and he started to wonder yet again about the conversation they’d had earlier.

He hadn’t bothered to check the local news after running away, and by the time that any news  _ would  _ have started to circulate he was off-planet.

Kai thought with a start about how he had no idea how much they knew. He really hated people knowing his history, it exposed to much of what he held close to his heart.

As he entered the bridge, he could hear Cole laugh. “Oh, there he is.”

Oh god, they wouldn’t try to blame him for their conversation earlier? Kai almost rolled his eyes at the thought, he hadn’t been the one to bring it up.

“Yeah, I’d just decided to take a nap. Should I not have?”

Cole shook his head. “Nah, it’s fine, you’re just usually wandering the halls somewhere.”

“Yeah, I guess I do that a lot, don’t I?” He sat on the sofa across from Cole. “It’s just kinda tiring to walk around for several hours.”

“Yeah, tell me about it!” Jay laughed from the pilot’s seat.

Kai grimaced. He supposed that if he was going to apologize for being grumpy this would probably be the only chance he’d get.

Then again, why should  _ he  _ apologize?

So a few moments later, he’d decided not to.

“So, what did you think of Jamakai?” Jay continued.

Kai shrugged. “The trees and mountains were pretty. It was busy. There wasn’t anything  _ too  _ special about it, but I wouldn’t complain about visiting again.”

“Oh!” Jay said. “I’m glad you liked it, wouldn’t wanna bore you out on our first trip to another planet.”

“Most new places aren’t really that boring,” Kai replied. “I like seeing new things.”

“Yeah, I usually say the same thing,” Cole told him. “However, a certain person named  _ Jay  _ gets bored when there isn’t anything ‘interesting’.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault that some places are so plain that it literally feels like I’m dying!” Jay argued back, crossing his arms. He’d swivilled his chair to face them, and Kai could now see his pout.

“Jeez, they’re never boring! There’s always something cool about each planet!” Cole retorted. Kai could sense that this wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation. Wow, did they always bring up old arguments, every chance they could?

Kai silently laughed to himself as he watched the way their bodies tensed up at such a small and meaningless disagreement.

“Oh, you know what place was the  _ worse?  _ This little moon called Renkan, the locals spoke in this weird monotone voice all the time and it was just so grey!” He threw his hands up.

Cole grimaced. “Ok, maybe that place wasn’t very interesting-“

“See! He agrees!” Jay sneered at him.

Glaring, Cole continued his comment. “What I was going to say was that it was still very pretty how they embedded those blue stones in their architecture.”

“You can find blue stones literally anywhere, Cole.”

“But not this type!”

Snickering, Kai cut in. “Alright, we get it, Jay gets bored easily.”

“Easily? That’s an understatement!”

“ _ Anyways, _ ” Continued Kai. “Where are we going next?”

Jay and Cole looked between themselves, and Kai realized they probably hadn’t even considered their next stop.

“Well…” Jay began to say. “We should finish up repairs first…”

“And then we should probably head to someplace we’re planning on dropping off our items in the hold.” Cole jerked his thumb behind him, to try and point in the vague general direction of the products he was talking about.

“Yeah!” Jay spun his chair around and started typing away at the screen in front of him, seemingly searching for an appropriate place to sell.

Cole stood up and walked over to the chair, leaning against the back of it as he peered over Jay’s shoulder at the various coordinates and names popping up on the glowing blue tablet. Pointing to a few of them, he murmured something that Kai couldn’t hear from his distance.

Kai sat patiently as they discussed where to head towards next, figuring it wasn’t really his place to suggest anywhere. He could catch a few stray words and phrases that drifted across the room to him, but he couldn’t piece together the whole of their conversation.

After several minutes, Cole straightened up again and patted Jay’s shoulder. “Alright, is that good?”

Jay nodded. “Yeah, that seems like an okay place to go.”

“Plus, we know it’s not  _ boring _ ,” Cole snickered as he made his way back to the soft couches where Kai was sitting.

“Do you mind me asking where we’re going?” Kai said as Cole plopped down in front of him, crossing his legs.

“Yeah, it’s this planet called Keenta!” Jay said, pushing himself up and out of his chair. “It’s a market, but a  _ much  _ bigger one than here in Jamankai.

Kai laughed dryly. “I bet it doesn’t take much to be larger than Jamankai.”

Cole ran his fingers through his dark and messy hair, sweeping it back and out of his face as he spoke. “Yeah, it also has the opportunity for us to pick up other things that could have profit in the future.

Kai arched an eyebrow. “What kind of stuff? Illegal stuff?”

“Of course,” Cole responded.

Kai grinned. “Sound like my type of place then.”

“I bet you’d like it there,” came Cole’s reply.

“It’s not all illegal markets though, you gotta know how to get to those,” Jay added in. “Mostly it’s stuff that police wouldn’t bat an eye at.”

“And let me guess, that’s all a cover?”

“Not really,” Cole said with a shrug. “Like Jay said, you have to know where to look.”

“It still sounds like a fun place though.” 

“It is!” Jay grinned. “The markets are amazing to explore, you can find things from all over the place. Last time I went I got my mom some yarn from one of the moons of Karushma.” His smile faded. “Oh, I never got the chance to give her that, did I?”

_ At least you have parents to buy presents for _ , Kai thought in his head, then felt bad a moment later. Jay probably missed his a lot, it wasn’t Kai’s place to make snide remarks.

“Anyways, it’s probably better if I continued with the repairs,” Jay continue to say. “The sooner we’re off, the better, and the less annoyed you’ll be.” Jay laughed.

“Eh, it’s fine, I don’t mind just laying around for a bit,” Kai said with a dismissive wave. “You shouldn’t rush with fixing things.”

“It’s still a good motivator,” Cole responded. “Jay gets distracted very easily.”

“Alright, I’ll admit that’s true,” Jay said as he stood up and stretched. “I’m actually gonna go and check up on our engine to see if I missed any damage.”

“I’ll come along,” Cole offered before Kai could. “I need something to do.”

“Alright!” Jay said as he strode out through the door.

Kai almost offered his help too but decided that they might not want him to help with the repairs. Well, he figured he could probably practice his swordfighting, he hadn’t really touched up on the skill for a few weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy I was able to publish this on time! I'm also incredibly grateful that yall are enjoying this so far
> 
> Question; If I were to include ships in this fic, what would you like? Just curious


	5. ACT I, PART V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay and Kai have a sparring session, and Kai finds that his demons won't leave him alone.

_ Dear Mister and Miss Smith, _

_ I am writing today to tell you that both of you have been accepted into the prestigious Ninjago Academy. _

_ I have also appointed us a meeting at 10:30 AM, to discuss scholarships, payments, boarding, and the possibilities you have with this offer. _

_ Yours truly, Jarren Schy. _

* * *

 

The next day, they left Jamankai.

Kai could feel the rumble of the engine under his feet, the vibrations it made through the floor as the ship lifted off of the planet surface, slowly ascending away from the mountains and into the sprawling blue sky.

He stood next to Jay’s pilot seat, a hand wrapped firmly around a handlebar sunken into the metal wall near the controls. Even when the ship swayed as it lifted, Kai had his feet planted and was able to steady himself in moments.

“We’re off!” Cheered Jay, both to Kai and to Cole, who was in another room and was communicating with them through a comm channel.

“Finally,” Kai laughed, and he guessed Cole said something of a similar nature through the intercomm, not that Kai could hear him.

“Goodbye Jamankai, next stop, Keenta,” Jay said in a singsong voice as he started to type away at the tablet screen, eyes flicking between the oncoming outer atmosphere and the screen in front of him.

Kai peered forward as the blue sky darkened and started to rapidly fade into black. “The sky of this planet isn’t very large, is it?”

Jay laughed. “Yeah, that and the fact that we were at a fairly high elevation.”

Kai shrugged. “That makes sense too.” He kept his eyes steadily trained on the scene above them, breaking into a grin as twinkling-white stars started to show through the dark.

“Brace yourself, we’re entering space,” Jay announced, and Kai set his free hand on the back of Jay’s chair as the ship started to quietly rattle and shake through the bumpy procedure.

“Time to see if those repairs truly worked,” Jay muttered to himself. He giggled at Kai’s nervous glance towards him. “Nah, I was just joking, of course the repairs will hold.”

“They better,” Kai muttered with a roll of his eyes, but the smile didn't falter much. A moment later, he glanced back at the doorway. “Anyways, where’d Cole even go?” He asked.

“I think he was making sure all our cargo was secure,” Jay replied. A moment later, Jay stretched as they entered the vast vacuum of space. “Alright, we’re good and clear! We didn't lose a wing or engine, so that’s probably a good sign.”

“So, we’re off now?”

Nodding, Jay pulled and pushed several of the multi-color levers scattered across the dashboard, all in a precise order. His hands drifted from color to color, reciting a sequence he’d done dozens- possibly hundreds- of times before.

“I’m just doing the preparations for hyperspace, I’m sure you saw me do this before,” Jay informed Kai over his shoulder. “People usually ask me what I’m doing, so I figured I’d get it out of the way.”

“Do you get that many people on this ship with you?” Kai asked as an eyebrow shot up. He wouldn’t have expected it.

“No, not really, but the few times it does happen, that’s the way that conversation goes down.”

“Understandable.” Kai watched with interest as Jay made several last minute checks on the coordinates and routes they would be using in moments, noting how specific and careful you have to be in order to make sure you don’t crash the ship into a star.

Jay didn’t seem to be the type of person to have that focus or attention-span, but he looked like he was pretty good at this. After all, he  _ had  _ probably been in charge of this vehicle for the past months, or even years.

“Do you enjoy piloting?” Kai asked, leaning against the wall, still grasping onto the handlebar. “It seems like you do.

“Huh?” Jay asked, glancing up at Kai, eyes not really focusing on him. He blinked twice, then nodded. “Oh! Yeah, I really do, sorry I was just a bit sucked up in making sure everything’s correct...”

“Yeah, wouldn’t want to send us hurtling into a planet, would you?” Kai teased, poking his shoulder.

Jay grimaced. “No, that would definitely  _ not  _ be good,” he said with a laugh. “I’m pretty lucky that I haven’t done that before.”

Kai’s eyebrows furrowed in thought, his forehead wrinkling with them. “God, what would even happen to the planet? Do you know?”

“It’s  _ very  _ destructive, so that’s why there are so many checks, systems, and training in place. Piloting’s actually a pretty difficult and dangerous job.”

Nodding, Kai pursed his lips. “That makes sense. I don’t know too much about what happens, usually I’m just a passenger in the backseat.”

“Aren’t you still one?”

“I mean, yeah, but I’m actually paying attention this time.”

Jay made a small chortling sound- Kai wasn’t sure what he found funny about that- then reached up above him to flick a couple switches.

“Alright, looks like the pre-checks are done. You ready?”

Kai nodded, eyes focused ahead at the distant stars and planets. “Ready when you are.”

“Alright!” Jay reached up to his headset and turned his comm. “Everything looking good?”

Cole’s crackling response came through, but Kai couldn’t hear it due to how quiet it was.

“Alright, good! Ready or not, here we come.” Jay slid the final (and largest) lever forward, ignoring the scraping sound as it went into position. The ship lurched forward, just enough to make Kai sway, then they were off.

Once again, brightness overtook Kai’s vision. He blinked, trying to adjust to the sudden light source. The cockpit had been dark before, and now it was filled with the stray beams coming from the swirling mass of just  _ light. _

“Well.” Jay’s chair clicked as he unlocked it, then leaned it back, hands thrown to rest behind his head. “That’s it for now. There’s nothing else I can really do except trust that it’ll work.”

Kai’s shoulders slumped, he hadn’t considered what he might do once he was finished watching Jay direct them off the planet and into hyperspace. 

Well… Maybe… A thought occurred to him.

“Do you know any… Martial arts or something similar?”

Jay glanced up at him. “Oh?”

Shrugging, Kai started to explain himself. “Well, I haven’t really had a good sparring session in a while. I was wondering if one of you would want to have one?” 

Jay stretched. “Sure, why not, I know how to fight. Cole made sure I’d be prepared if we ever had to have hand-to-hand combat.”

"Well, I'm up for a match if you'd like," Kai offered.

Jay nodded absentmindedly, toggling a few switches to make sure no settings accidentally changed mid-flight. "Sure, why not? I haven't really had time to practice either, it'll be nice to brush up."

Getting up and out of his chair, he stretched back and rolled his shoulders before giving Kai a thumbs up. "Alright, off we go!"

Grinning, Kai nodded and turned to start walking out. "How about the bay, there's plenty of room in there."

"That'll be fine," Jay responded, bounding after him and catching up in moments. "Plus I can move a few boxes if we need to." He stopped, then opened a door to his right.

"Cole's in here, I'm just gonna tell him what's going on," Jay said to Kai, as he popped his head into the room. "Cole? Kai and I are gonna go and spar in the hold," he called to his partner.

Looking up with surprise from the book he was huddled over, Cole nodded rapidly. “Alright, you two do that, I’ll stay here.”

“You can join us if you’d like,” Kai offered, peeking into the kitchen as well. 

Cole gave them a dismissive wave, turning the page he was reading. “It’s ok,” he said, eyes skimming over the lines. “I can just stay here.”

Jay shrugged. “Ok, whatever you want.”

He closed the door and made his way down to the hold, rambling about different ways he’d learned to fight over the years. Kai listened as he spoke, not interrupting the clearly excited man.

“Here we are,” Jay announced, turning to walk backwards so he could face Kai, and sweeping his arms around in a large motion.

“I’m aware,” Kai said with a small laugh. “I’ve been here before.”

Jay pouted, “Hey, I was just trying to make it seem more exciting! You can’t blame me for being  _ dramatic  _ and  _ interesting _ .”

“Just cause you’re dramatic doesn’t mean you’re interesting,” Kai shot back, the playful smile still drawn on his features.

Jay shrugged off the brown jacket on his shoulders, setting it onto one of the grey containers stack nearby. He drew his fists up towards his chest, stance changing to seem more uneasy and ready to fight.

Taking up a fighting position of his own, Kai faced him. “Alright, let’s have the normal sparring rules. If one of us wants to stop, we stop. No strong headshots. Don’t use enough force to injure.”

“Got it,” Jay said, nodding.

They paced each other slowly, drawing nearer to each other, until Jay’s leg shot out in an attempt to kick Kai in the side, but Kai blocked him with a swift downward motion of his arm, leg connecting with his forearm.

Kai went in for a punch to the chest, which Jay dodged and returned with a punch of his own.

Catching his arm and twisting it ever so slightly, Kai knocked Jay to the ground and lightly set his foot onto Jay’s back so he couldn’t get up.

“I win,” he taunted, holding him down for five seconds before releasing him to get up.

Jay pushed himself off the floor and resumed his usual stance. “Don’t let your head get too big, that was just the first round.” He grinned. “I can still win, just you wait.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to prove that to me then,” Kai said with a smirk.

They continued sparring until they were panting and their muscles ached, exchanging blows and snarky remarks.

Collapsing onto one of the boxes, Kai set his hands behind him so he could lean back against the hard surface. 

“Good game,” Jay said, sitting in a similar position across the clearing of empty floor. “That was fun.”

Kai nodded, having thought the same thing. “Good game,” he echoed back to him.

They sat in silence for several minutes, worn out from the hour of exercise. Kai tilted his head back so he could stare out the windows into the empty vacuum of space, gaze examining the many stars twinkling in the distance.

“When did we drop out of hyperspace?” Kai asked, as he realized that they wouldn’t see the stars if they hadn’t left it.

“A few minutes ago, I think. We’ll do our next jump later.”

“Huh.”

“Wanna go back to the kitchen?” Jay asked, getting back to his feet, his seemingly endless energy returning to him.

“Sure, I’d like some food to recharge with,” Kai responded, shrugging his shoulders slightly. A moment later, he pushed himself out of his seat as well, trying to find his balance for a moment before comfortably standing next to Jay.

“Let’s go,” Jay announced, already walking away from him with a spring in his step.

_ How does he  _ do  _ that?  _ Kai thought to himself.  _ How does he always seem to have so much energy? _

Kai walked with a bit less energy, shoulders set back as he followed after the other man, his brown cloak folded neatly over his arm.

When they reached the kitchen, Cole was nowhere to be found and Kai presumed that he’d gone to his room or went to do a chore in a different part of the ship. He wasn’t too disappointed, he figured that talking with Jay would be an interesting enough activity for the time being. Even if Jay was a bit over-energetic and had been conversing with Kai for the past hour.

Okay, maybe he did want someone else to join their conversation. He was fine with hearing Jay ramble on about things he was interested in, but after a while they would inevitably start to remash the same topics they’d already gone over before.

He sank down in one of the chairs bolted to the floor, leaning back against the plastic backing and stretching out his legs in front of him. “So, what’re we having?”

Jay pulled open the silver refrigerator door, pursing his lips as he scanned the array of various foods they had recently stocked up on. “I’m having fruit, you can get something else if you want.” He leaned down and fished a few ranenberries from a clear compartment, then shut the door as he walked over to the table.

Kai groaned. “Of course, make  _ me  _ walk.” He pulled himself up again, and started to look through the food options in the fridge a moment later.

Jay snickered. “Of course, why should  _ I  _ do your work for you?” He popped another one of the oval fruits into his mouth.

“Because it’s polite,” Kai shot back, choosing a pack of crackers- why were these in the fridge?- and a small pack of yogurt. As he brought his snacks back to the table, he also said, “Wait, everything in there was up for grabs, right.”

“I mean, you’ve already taken your share of the food, so does it even matter at this point?”

Kai cast him a grin. “Thought so.” He settled back down into his seat and started to tear at the top edges of the pack of crackers, ripping the flimsy cover down and retrieving one of the hard, beige biscuits from it. He started to munch on it, emptying the rest of the pack and stacking them on top of the wrapper.

Jay and him mostly ate in silence, other than the crunch of a cracker or the tapping of Jay’s foot against the cold, hard floor.

“It was good sparring with you,” Jay said, yawning and crossing his arms as he finished the portion of ranenberries he’d chosen to eat. “I don’t get to practice much, which is a shame. It’s pretty fun!”

“Yeah, it is,” Kai replied, starting to peel back the yogurt lid. “I don’t get to practice much anymore, not witho-” he stopped abruptly, then awkwardly lifted the cup to his lips to slurp at the thick and creamy yogurt. He didn’t feel like touching on  _ that  _ subject right now. 

Already, his stomach started to curdle again, the grief he’d suppressed for so long starting to emerge and gnaw hungrily at his insides, twisting inside of him like dark smoke he couldn’t ignored. 

“What were you saying?” Jay asked, oblivious to what was happening in Kai’s mind.

“Nothing,” Kai growled with a shake of his head, before pushing himself up into a standing position. “I'm actually gonna run to the bathroom quickly, if you don't mind.” He tried to give Jay a small smile to reassure him but failed miserably, quickly making his way into the compartment set into the side of the kitchen, shutting the door behind him.

He sank down onto the closed toilet seat and rubbed his eyes wearily.

Fuck.

He thought he was over this.

He’d been doing so good earlier today, why right now, why right here?

Kai missed her.

Kai missed Nya.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I wanted to update a week ago but UGH school and home life has been kicking my ass :( I also was on a trip to D.C. so yeahhh
> 
> Once again, thanks for reading!
> 
> Today's question: is there anything you want to be explored more in the future?


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